San Pablo de Buceite |
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San Pablo de Buceite, views from the railway station |
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This lovely Andalusian village is located in Cádiz province in the area known as the “Campo de Gibraltar”. It is in the northwestern part of the Jimena de Libar municipality and claims to have more hours of sunshine than any other town in the province of Cádiz: 2,600 hours per year. Combine this with the ideal mix of subtropical and Mediterranean seaboard climate and you have a perfect place to visit or live.
The village is right next to the Alcornocales Natural Park and it is surrounded by citrus groves and so much greenery that locals claim to offer visitors a thousand shades of green.
History
San Pablo de Buceite is known as a “young village” because, unlike so many Andalusian villages that date back to the Phoenicians or Romans – or at least the Moors, this town was established in the late 1800’s.
In reality, this area was owned by two large owners and in 1869 the Duke of Medina Sidonia sold this area to a Marques of the Larios family named Don Martín Larios Herreros. By 1875 the area known as the Buceite estate was becoming populated enough to be granted the status of “rural colony”. This was wonderful for Buceite (as it was still known) because according to the law governing rural colonies, they didn’t have to pay taxes or serve in the military. Buceite became a real village, with the full name San Pablo de Buceite in 1887.
Restaurant
The San Pablo railway station (La Estación de San Pablo) was convereted into a restaurant, quite a unique place to dine, right by the platform. After closing in 2020 and hosting some events in 2021 the restaurant and bar opened for the summer in June 2022; Thursday to Sunday evenings at 08.00.
Festivals
As far as festivals are concerned, the town of San Pablo de Buceite celebrates the annual carnival, Holy Week and Easter Sunday and at the end of June they have an annual fair in honor of the village’s patron saints. Along with the fair there is also a “romería”. The 29th of June is the date of the San Pablo de Buceite Fair, which honours the Patron Saints of San Pablo and San Pedro.
